ABSTRACT
As illustrated in Chapter 3, one can liken the DPRK’s prison camps to the doorstep of Hell. While international law and even the DPRK Criminal Code (to some lesser degree) require some due process and humane treatment of the accused, the reality reflects a broken system of gross, systematic injustice and impunity. 1 Where rights to due process, security of person, and freedom from torture represent just a handful of rights required under international law, the accused in the DPRK more realistically face arbitrary arrest, extrajudicial decisions, starvation and torture during interrogation, and sentencing without a (fair) trial—even before stepping into a prison camp. If life outside a concentration camp is already one large jail, and pre-sentence detainment and interrogation are egregious, strong enough words do not exist to accurately detail the sheer nightmare that prisoners witness and experience inside. 2
